Sports fans live on extremes. Every major move is either the best thing that ever happened to your team or the beginning of the end.
So when two young defensemen — Luke Hughes (seven years, $63 million with New Jersey) and Jackson LaCombe (eight years, $72 million with Anaheim) — inked big-money extensions this week, it didn’t take long for Montreal Canadiens fans to start worrying about what comes next for Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson.
“The Canadiens fans have been on a social media freakout,” said NHL insider Elliotte Friedman.
Hockey Insiders Believe Latest Contracts Will Help Spur Lane Hutson Deal
On Friday’s episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast for Sportsnet, Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas examined the potential impact on the Hutson negotiations from these latest signings, not to mention the eight-year, $76 million contract Montreal gave to defenseman Noah Dobson in the sign-and-trade agreement with the New York Islanders in late June.
“The Canadians have been trying to keep this [negotiation with Hutson’s camp] kind of under wraps and they’ve been trying to hammer out this deal and get it done,” Friedman said. “And you know when Hughes signed for 7×9 and LeCombe signed for 8×9, you know people were sitting there and saying, ‘Oh no, Hutson, he’s 10 (million per year), or he’s 11, or he’s over Dobson,’ and Dobson just signed for nine and a half.”
But rather than pushing a potential Hutson deal into another stratosphere, Friedman said he believes this week’s activity, particularly Anaheim’s contract with LeCombe, merely established the framework for where the Canadiens and their star defenseman will eventually land.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I don’t think the 8×9 for LeCombe really hurts Montreal as much as some people think,” Friedman said. “As a matter of fact, I would guess that whatever these two teams are talking about, or these two sides are talking about, it’s not far from there, on an eight-year deal.”
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun felt similarly, and in an appearance on SC with Jay Onrait, LeBrun cited the recent history of contract negotiations for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens to suggest that Hutson would likely sign a deal that won’t break the bank.
“The Habs have done such a good job, you know, with their young core,” LeBrun said. “You know, you look at [Nick] Suzuki, and [Juraj] Slafkovský, and [Cole] Caufield, and Kaiden Guhle, a lot of good contracts here. This team is on the up, and it’s got a good salary cap culture, and they want to continue that. … I’m sure that part of what the Habs are trying to sell in Lane Hutson and his camp is that they’re trying to build a team that takes multiple cracks at it over the long term. And they want to have a cap culture at the heart of it so that they can be as deep as possible, resign as (many) guys as possible.”
Optimism High Over Lane Hutson Eventually Signing Deal with Montreal
Marco D’Amico agreed with his colleagues, writing a column for RG Media that examined a myriad of ways the Canadiens can get a deal done that works for both sides. He pointed out that because Lane Hutson is a 10.2(c) RFA — without arbitration rights or the ability to sign an offer sheet — Montreal has some leverage to keep his cap hit under control. Instead of pushing his average annual value well above the $9 million range set by recent comparables, the Canadiens could lean on creative structuring to make the deal more appealing.
That includes strategies like front-loading the contract, building in heavy signing bonuses that are taxed more favorably, or even using Retirement Compensation Arrangements to maximize Hutson’s take-home pay. The end result would be a contract that looks modest on the salary cap sheet but still rewards the defenseman handsomely, giving Montreal both cost certainty and roster flexibility in the years ahead.
“From everything I’ve heard, I’d be jaw-on-the-floor shocked if he signed for over 10M,” D’Amico wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
But despite the optimism over a deal eventually getting done, Friedman stressed that there are still plenty of challenges ahead.
“Let’s just say for argument’s sake we’re at the 5-yard line,” Friedman said. “I think Hutson’s camp has an idea of where they want to be. I think the Canadians have an idea of where they want to be. And while I think they’re in the same kind of general vicinity, I don’t know if those last five yards are going to be easy.”
“Big cloud of dust to come?” Bukauskas asked.
“Big cloud of dust to come,” Friedman concurred.
NHL Analysts Urge Canadiens Fans Not to Panic Over Recent Signings